University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
19-4-0, 13-4-0
Bemidji State
5-15-3, 2-14-1
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
No. 3 Gophers Strike Early, Down Beavers 5-3 at Sanford Center
1/16/2026 9:54:00 PM | Women's Hockey
BEMIDJI, MINN. – The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota women's hockey team skated to a 5-3 victory over Bemidji State on Friday night at the Sanford Center. Minnesota scored twice in a 14-second span late in the opening period and added three more goals in the second to build a 5-0 cushion before holding off a third-period push by the Beavers. Graduate forward Abbey Murphy recorded a two-point night to move into third place on Minnesota's all-time points list with 249 career points.
The opening frame was evenly played early, with Minnesota holding a 4-2 edge in shots through the first half of the period. The Gophers earned the game's first power play, where Nelli Laitinen set up Murphy for a one-timer from the left faceoff dot that rang off the near post, but Minnesota was unable to convert.
Minnesota broke through late in the first period with a pair of goals just 14 seconds apart. Murphy opened the scoring at 15:10 with an impressive solo effort, chasing down a loose puck in the neutral zone, beating a defender wide, and snapping a short-side shot high. Ava Lindsay doubled the lead moments later at 15:24, finishing a feed from Jamie Nelson on the backhand for her eighth goal of the season.
The Gophers continued to score in bunches in the second period. Kendra Distad made it 3-0 at 10:20, converting on an odd-man rush with a backhanded finish outside the crease. Less than a minute later, Bella Fanale capitalized on a rebound off a Josefin Bouveng shot to push the lead to 4-0 at 11:08.
Minnesota capped the scoring with a power-play goal late in the second period. After a faceoff win by Emma Kreisz, Chloe Primerano moved the puck to Sydney Morrow, who skated in from the point and fired a far-side shot from the right circle at 17:27 to give the Gophers a 5-0 advantage heading into the final frame.
Bemidji State answered with three third-period goals, including a pair on the power play at 5:34 and 12:32, before adding a final tally at 19:26 to cut the deficit to 5-3.
With the win, Minnesota improved to 19-4-0 overall and 13-4-0 in WCHA play, while Bemidji State dropped to 5-15-3 (2-14-1 WCHA).
Quotable
"The first two periods were very good, we were doing the right things and playing the right way," said head coach Brad Frost. "Third period we got a little loose, and unfortunately got into some penalty trouble and couldn't kill them off. Credit to Bemidji, they kept playing the full sixty minutes and were able to close the gap. Overall, a good win on the road and excited for tomorrow."
Notable
- Abbey Murphy moved into third place on Minnesota's all-time points list with her 249th career point.
- Josefin Bouveng extended her point streak to 22 games.
- Emma Kreisz appeared in her 100th career game as a Gopher.
Up Next
The Gophers return to the Sanford Center on Saturday for the series finale against the Beavers. Puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m. CT, with all the action streaming live on B1G+.